Dogs Rescued From Meat Farm Arrive in DC

Nearly two dozen dogs once destined for dinner plates in South Korea are now in Washington, and will soon be ready to find their forever homes.

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International rescued the 23 dogs from a meat farm in Seoul that was shut down. According to a press release from Humane Society International, the organization “secured an agreement with [the farmer] to stop raising dogs for food and move permanently to growing crops as a more humane way to make a living.”

The dogs arrived in the Washington area this week and have been staying at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. Some remain at that shelter, while the rest were transferred Friday to five other local rescue groups. Five went to the Washington Animal Rescue League, including the dogs pictured here. Others went to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, Loudoun County Animal Services, City of Manassas Animal Control and Adoption Shelter, and the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.

Though the animals will need time to adjust and recuperate, all six shelters will work to find them loving families. Hopefully that won’t be too hard, because come on, just look at these faces!

Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 as a staff writer, and became a senior editor in 2014. She was previously a reporter for Legal Times and the National Law Journal. She has recently written about the Marriott family’s civil war and the 50-year rebirth of 14th Street, and reported the definitive oral history of the Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt case. She lives in Northeast DC with her husband, two dogs, and two cats.